Icing Granny's Lamingtons

We did ice these lamingtons just a day or so after we baked the butter cake for them.

I just have not got to blogging about it.  I'm probably spending my time eating them ;)

Creaming the butter

Sifting icing sugar with cocoa

Adding the secret and unique ingredient ;)

Production line in swing with Ess and Eee.  My hand seems to need to be in every bowl :)

This box of prepared lamingtons reminds me very much of the box my Granny would carry out to our picnics.  Beautiful pale, hand-formed lamingtons, coated in chocolate icing, covered with coconut.

The finished cake is a sweet, rich and moist delectable delight which few can resist the lure of.  Very moorish as well unfortunately.

I have to say that these lamingtons were definitely given the thumbs up.  The girls have been telling me lately that my food should be "sold in a shop".  I think I'd prefer to cook less and eat more than anyone running a shop, and stay home with my family.  Ess is letting me know as I write that "they are certainly fit to be restaurant desserts".  I'll take that as a very high compliment.  Really I am just glad to be creating fond memories for them which they'll cherish for their lifetime.

By Broulee Beach

We spent the day by Broulee Beach yesterday,

soaking in the sand and the sun,  

sights and sounds, 

the colours and textures.

There were sand pies to be mixed, 

time for solitary exploration 

sandcastles bedecked with star-shaped shells

rock pools to paddle and wade in

fish to attempt to catch in our bucket

sand angels to make

and vistas to enjoy

Lamingtons: Butter or Sponge?

Fresh Butter Cake squares waiting to be made into lamingtons,
 if they aren't consumed first.

There are some times when you just wish you still had your Granny around to ask a few questions.

Do you find that?  As I'm getting older and have a more mature perspective of the world, shall we say, I find myself wanting to ask my Granny a few more questions than I had thought to before she died when I was about 20.

Creaming the butter

When growing up I took for granted the fabulous lamingtons my Granny made for the family to share on picnics out on the farm.  I just devoured them.  We all did.  They were fabulous.

Little Eee loving helping with creaming the butter and sugar 

As I grew older I realised there were other sorts of lamingtons you could buy from bakeries and also supermarkets.  I never really took to those at all.  I have however come across a few and eaten a few as they are a favourite sweet of my dear Generous Gentleman's.  They always left a metallic taste in my mouth, and still do.

Ess helping sift flour into our bowl

So when the opportunity arose to take the family to the Great National Lamington Bake Off in order to celebrate Australia Day we all jumped at the chance.  I was curious to see what it was all about and how a chef might interpret the lamington these days.  My girls love baking (and tasting of course) and my lovely husband just loves eating lamingtons.  So it was a match made perfectly.

Fresh golden butter cake with the recipe I transcribed
at the age of about 10 years

When it was discovered that two out of the three chefs were baking a sponge cake for their lamington a question arose concerning the original and authentic lamington.  Would it have also been a sponge cake or would it have been a butter cake?  Granny always made a butter cake for her lamingtons and I have assumed that the spongey light and fluffy cake was made by the bakeries and supermarkets.  However it seems that some others consider the sponge base is a more authentic lamington.  Or perhaps they prefer the light and fluffy sponge cake?  It seems that the CWA baked a butter cake for their lamingtons as well.  I am yet to find an example of the sponge cake being used for lamingtons by the older generation, apart from mass production for school fetes and the like.  What is your preference?  

For the results of the bake-off take a read of the Canberra Times article.

Waiting for icing and coconut

Now I'm on a mission to bake lamingtons with my family in the fashion of my Granny's, to share with them the tradition I hold such fond and vivid memories of.  I'll ask them which cake they choose as their cake of preference: butter or sponge?  I already know my choice.

New Year Seeds are Sprouting and Shooting

On New Year's Day my girls and I planted seeds in our new garden.

You can see their homes on the right in the picture above, a little sheltered spot by the Meyer Lemon we believe, planted here by the previous owners.

I just love the way Ess made labels from shells we have collected over the years.

These flower seeds came from a packet named "Rockery Mix".

Lots of alyssum will shoot I suspect.

On 7 January we saw, with great excitement in my little girls, that the seeds were sprouting

Some were clearly enjoying their new home and sprouting forth all their pretty two-leaved goodness.

Then ten days later on 17 January we find that the plants are really shooting up.  Soon the girls should have real flowers to plant around their little cubby house to enjoy before the frosts come again.

Or maybe they'll be big enough to survive some icyness.  I am still learning about gardening in Canberra where there are frosts from Easter to Melbourne Cup Day (first Tues in November).  The weather is amazing here.  This time last week it was 1.6 degC before dawn (a new record).  There was even some snow in the mountains.  It is summer for heavens sake.  Today it is hot again and we enjoyed an afternoon swim in the local pool.

At this stage also, it appears I have some competition - the lettuce has all been eaten.  Pesky snails I'm assuming.

A fitting way to commence the year in our new home don't you think.  Planting seeds, being thrilled and excited as we nurture and care for them and see them sprout and grow.  And all of this happening in our newly purchased own home.  I do love a bit of symbolism.

Rosemary and Chickpea Flatbread

My Ess has recently taken to making flatbreads.  Have I told you about her Meatballs with Rosemary Flatbreads and Carrot Salad?  She was inspired by Junior Masterchef.  A definite favourite during the last part of last year.  She took the whole day to make the whole dish but was absolutely focused all day long.  I didn't intervene at all unless she asked for help.  We were hungry for lunch by 4pm but at least Daddy could join us.  And the meal became tea - lucky for me.

I'm not sure what inspired me, but I was certain there had to be a lovely flat bread using besan (chickpea flour).  So the hunt began!   Yesterday we found a nice-looking recipe with besan added.  We made the flatbread and devoured them in one sitting.  This morning we made them again... and yes, devoured them again.

I really like this recipe because the bread is baked in the oven for a short 10 minutes.  The other flatbreads were cooked in a pan which was much more hands, much more effort.

They are very simple, very quick, so you must simply try them yourself, you must.

Find the recipe here at pikelet & pie.  You really should head over there.  She has teamed these with a Zucchini and Feta salad which tempts me but probably not my lassies.  Her photos are thus much more enticing than those you see here. :)

Happy New Year

My family headed out today to celebrate the last day of the year.

Our destination was Old Parliament House Gardens to enjoy peace and serenity, 

blossom and green, a picnic lunch on the lawn.

There we found some favourite flowers

including the above Ringlet Rose which Ess has claimed her favourite this year.

This pretty little Violet

(they will forever remind me of my newest niece now)

We enjoyed a picnic lunch under the trees

 and watched the girls play a few games together

while we tried to keep our baby from rummaging through the picnic basket and esky too dangerously.

My finds include this gorgeous bell flower which I'd love to know more about, perhaps to even grow it in my garden.  Do tell me if you can identify it!

And this delicate single petal rose 'Dainty Bess'.  It is held fondly in the bosom of my memories as my mother grew it in our family home, perhaps it's still there, I must ask her.

I recall it as a favourite of hers.

I couldn't quite understand why as a child.

I saw many more beautiful flowers.

I saw so very many of these decorating our home.

Yet Mum loved it's delicate beauty...

and now, of course, I see exactly what she means.

It's curious that my Ess has already found beauty in a similar rose, 

Ringlet Rose.

As a friend of mine said to me earlier this evening:

"Hope 2012 is full of good things and peaceful hearts, 

lots of love and belly laughs"

Happy New Year.